Half a million homes pay wrong council tax
HALF a million homes have been listed as being in the wrong council tax band – without their owners being told.
It means thousands could be paying too much council tax each year even though the wrong valuations are known to tax inspectors.
A total of 543,373 homes have been given the code CL26 on Labour’s mass database of England’s homes.
The code marks out the homes as being in need of “correction of inaccuracy on the council tax list”.
But their owners have not been informed, new valuations have not necessarily been made, and the Valuation Office Agency has ruled out further investigation to determine if similar neighbouring properties are also in the wrong band. CL26 errors are only corrected when homes are put up for sale and revalued for marketing purposes.
The Tories last night branded the revelations “a scandal of immense proportions” and promised an inquiry into the council tax cover up.
They fear the figure of 543,373 homes tagged CL26 could be “the tip of the iceberg”.
Information has also emerged about how the Valuation Office Agency covered up the scale of the problem, fearing a media backlash and an expensive mass payout to families who had been paying too much council tax for years.
The revelations are contained in minutes from the agency’s Council Tax Revaluation Programme Board in May 2007.
The minutes reported: “Concern was expressed about the possible knock-on implications for billing authorities and adverse press coverage this could generate in the current climate.”
Tory local government spokesman Caroline Spelman said: “This is a scandal of immense proportions. Labour ministers have conspired to hide the fact that local residents are paying too much council tax.
“A Conservative government will open an immediate inquiry into this council tax scandal as a vital step in restoring the public’s trust.”
The Tories have promised to use Labour’s database of England’s 23 million homes to write to homeowners trapped in the wrong band to tell them how to claim a rebate.
Refunds, which could stretch back a number of years, could run into thousands of pounds for each household.
